Peace Never Lasts
by Bubbles2k100
Summary: {Sequel to 'A Different Story - The Walking Dead'} After arriving at Wellington, facing many life changing challenges before and after the journey, will Clementine and her group be able to finally live a 'normal' life, or will an oncoming herd ruin things for everyone? (Features OC's)
1. Scars From The Rebellion

**A/N - A sequal! Yay! So here's Peace Never Lasts; a continuation of A Different Story (which many of you seemed to love) I know some of you were confused as to why Clementine is so weak and childish in this story BUT there is a reason that I will explain now (it will be included in one of the next chapters too) Clementine had had it rough; falling in the lake, figuring out she's been starving herself, going into a coma for ten days and being belittled by people she thought would never do something like that. It takes a lot out of an eleven year old child and it only made sense that I made the effect be like this. Anyway, enough of me waffling on. You'll understand more if you actually read the story ;) - Enjoy**

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><p>The cold air pricked at the skin of Clementine's face as she made her way towards the café tent. She sighed as she dragged her feet through the snow. Luke didn't want her skipping breakfast so he sent her out early to get some.<p>

It had been a week since the rebellion at Wellington and people were still wary of the herd that was supposed to hit soon. Clementine personally didn't worry about it. Christa had said she had it under control so Clementine took her word on it.

Today was a big day. It was the day Clementine and Thomas were joining the training squad in the evening, after school of course. School was a pain but she had to attend; it was one of the few things Christa and Luke saw eye to eye on.

Kenny had been quiet since he got shot. Clementine hadn't seen him around very often but when she did, they usually argued.

Jane seemed to be opening up to people, which warmed the little girl's heart. She had been told about Jamie, Jane's sister, who died a while back and how Jane was having trust issues because of it. It was good to know that she was finally moving on.

Nick and Luke hung around together a lot, usually joking around like little kids. Sometimes Clementine thinks she's more mature than those two.

Sarah usually hangs around with other girls her age but sometimes she tags along with Thomas and Clementine. She has learned more survival skills from the two younger children and is really becoming an independent young woman.

Clementine walked into the café lazily but smiled when she saw Mike wave at her. "You're an early riser! It's gotta be, what? Five? Six?" he said taking a sip of his coffee.

"Luke sent me to get food…" she said rolling her eyes.

"Ah, Alright!" Mike laughed.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" she said as she went to get breakfast.

"Yeah, Clem; Seeya later!" he said.

Clementine ate her sandwich as she made her way back to her tent to jump back in bed beside Luke for a few more minutes of rest. She held a juice box in one hand as she pulled opened her door with the other one. Luke was sitting up rubbing his eyes. She sat beside him and leaned against his arm, drinking her juice as he put on some shoes.

"Don't you feel better after eating?" he asked. She nodded her head sleepily.

"I found something I think you're gonna like…" he said putting his hand in his pocket.

She sat up straight and put her juice box on the cabinet next to the bed. "What?" she asked curiously.

Luke pulled a whistle out of his pants pocket and handed it to her. "Why don't you go test it out next door?" he asked with a mischievous smile.

She snuck next door to Nick and Sarah's tent and stood at the bottom of their beds. She stuck the whistle into her mouth and blew as hard as she could. Sarah shot up into a sitting position and screamed loudly while Nick fell off the bed.

They both looked at Clementine angrily and she knew that was her queue to leave. She ran outside as fast as she could but Nick was faster as he pushed her into the snow. Sarah followed and sat on top of her while Nick prepared to put snow in her face. Before he could drop his pile, Luke tackled him to ground.

Jane came outside in a pissy mood from being woken so early and Brandon arrived on the scene quickly. "What's going on?!" he asked as he pulled Sarah off Clementine.

Clementine gasped for air as she sat up and Brandon kneeled beside her. "You okay?" he asked softly. She nodded her head as she stuck her inhaler in her mouth and fixed her cap on her head.

Luke stood up along with Nick, both of them trying to hold in their laughter while Jane marched back to her and Kenny's tent.

"We were just having some, fun!" Luke said brushing some snow off his clothes.

"Alright, but be quiet next time. There's a zombie apocalypse going on out there!" Brandon said seriously but he had a faint amused smile on his face as he walked away.

Nick and Sarah went back into their tent as Luke pulled Clementine off the snowy ground and brought her inside.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked kneeling in front of her as she sat on the bed.

"Yeah, it's just when they sat on me, my asthma…" she trailed off when Luke nodded understandingly.

"That whistle was loud…" Luke chuckled.

Clementine laughed too. "I know! Nick fell out of the bed!" she said.

This caused Luke to laugh harder. "Well, I think you should go and get Thomas now. You know, get ready for school and get excited for your first day training!" he said patting her on the shoulder.

"Okay! Will you be here after school so I can tag along with you?" she asked.

"I'll be at training already, sorry Clem. Go with Thomas and I'll meet you there." Luke said putting his walkie talkie in his pocket.

"Alright… Seeya later, Luke!" she said giving him a quick hug before leaving the tent.

"Be good!" he called after her but she ignored him.

She was wearing a light grey shirt and purple hoodie that Sarah had gotten for her, under a long, warm navy blue coat with a fluffy hood. She also wore black tracksuit pants, two pairs of socks and a pair of faded purple converse that Luke had spent ages teaching her to tie on her own. She had the gloves Luke had given her a few weeks back on her small hands.

Her cap continued to hide her curly, black hair, which was still tied back in two small bundles. Lilly had helped her cut it a few days after getting out of the 'hospital' with Luke.

Clementine made her way through the busier streets towards Thomas's tent. He lived in one of the tents near the gate with Brandon and Logan.

She approached the door and was about to call his name when it opened in front of her and Thomas's bright green eyes locked with hers. His brown curls were being held back by his hand as he smiled at her.

"Morning…" he said sleepily. Clementine noticed he wasn't dressed yet and was standing at his door in his sleep clothes; a white long sleeved shirt and blue, plaid pyjama pants.

"Aren't you ready yet?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"I slept it…?" he asked with a yawn.

"Not this time…" Clementine asked rolling her eyes.

Thomas always slept in; that's why Miss Fredrick, their school teacher, was always annoyed by his lateness to school nearly every second day.

He looked at his watch that Brandon had given him. "School doesn't start for ages! I only got up to pee… Why are you here so early?" he asked, letting his hair fall back into its natural position.

"Luke…" she said tiredly. "Besides, we have training later! I thought you'd be up and ready by now! You usually always get excited about this kind of stuff, why not today?" she asked.

Thomas's eyes widened. "I forgot! I…I better get ready! Here, why don't you come in?" he asked stepping aside and pulling the door open more.

Clementine thought to herself for a minute. "Won't you be getting changed?" she asked sticking her hands in her pockets and smirking childishly.

"You don't have to look!" he said shaking his head and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Okay, then." She said walking inside.

Thomas's tent was like every other tent in the settlement; empty and boring. There were three beds and a lot of boxes filled with their personal items.

Clementine and Luke's tent was the best house around. People were always coming over to talk with Luke and check out his work. The purple material continued to stand out from every other fabric of everyone else's tent. Lilly didn't enjoy the company but when Luke and Clementine were happy, she was happy too.

It was weird being in such a bland environment.

"Do you wanna come over later?" she asked as she waited, with her back turned, for Thomas to get dressed.

"Sure!" he said as he pulled his jeans up.

"I can teach you to draw again…" Clementine said, smiling as she heard Thomas sigh.

"You know I can't draw… I like watching _you_ do it. Your pictures are always amazing!" he said pulling his coat on over his jumper.

Her smile grew when he said her drawings were amazing. "Are you done?" she asked.

"You can turn around. I'm just putting my shoes on." He said sitting on the bed and getting his shoes on.

She turned around and walked over to him. "Hurry up!" she said watching him fix his laces so they weren't sticking out.

"Okay, okay! I'm done!" he laughed, standing up and walking to the door with Clementine following close behind.

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><p><strong>AN - So this was kind of a prologue but not really ;) (It was just short like one) I'm just going to give you all a fair warning now and say _Updates may be spaced quite far as I am co-writing a sequel to Separation! and I'm working on something else for you all!_ So please be patient and I'll update when I can. Don't forget to Review; let me know do I suck at writing or if you liked this first chapter :) I could also do with a little inspiration and maybe even a few personal thoughts on what you think is going to happen? Until next time. Seeya**

**~- Meg xxx**


	2. Clementine's Struggle

**A/N - Finally able to update! Sorry for the wait but I have HUGE exams coming up and I'm way behind on studying (I've been caught up with drama with my 'friends' :\ stupid...) Anyways, Last chapter I told you about Clementine's struggle, and in this chapter we see how it has really affected her (you'll see in a few minutes) I think the word used is 'by-polar'? Well, better get to the actual story, I mean that is what you came here for, right? ;) -Enjoy**

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><p>The two children walked around the settlement for a while until it was finally time for school. "I hate school..." Thomas complained.<p>

"Me too. But at least we're getting an education..." Clementine said.

Thomas looked at her blankly before bursting out laughing. "I...I think you spend too much time with Luke!" he laughed.

Clementine sighed playfully.

As they walked into the class all eyes went in their direction and small fits of giggles erupted from the girls. "What's so funny?" Clementine asked locking eyes with Sarah. She just looked away and stared at her desk.

"Thomas and Clem, sitting in a tree…" Clementine's eyes widened as she heard this song being sung.

She turned to look at Thomas, whose face had turned a dark red colour. She felt her insides twist and her eyebrows knot together, before marching out of the then angrily and making her way back to her tent.

She pulled back the door and walked straight into Luke.

He looked down at her confused. "Why aren't you at school, Clem?" he asked.

"Why aren't you at training?" she shot back, anger filling her words.

Luke bent down to her level. "What's wrong?" he asked calmly.

She huffed angrily before ranting on about how she hated school, how she hated all the kids and how she hated Wellington. Luke listened carefully to her words. She finally calmed down enough for him to speak up.

"You're just saying that because the kids are taking the piss, Clem. They don't mean it, trust me. Wellington isn't that bad either, you know. It's just because you're stressing!" he explained.

She frowned more. "You never understand, do you?" she shouted.

He had grown used to her sudden outbursts like this and as he vowed before, he wouldn't over react. "How about you sit down and let off some steam?" he said pointing to the bed.

"You didn't answer my question!" she yelled.

Luke sighed before standing up. "I've gotta get back to training, Clem. Stay here or go to school, whichever." He said watching her eyes widen.

"Luke… You don't even care! Why do I always come to you when I can go to Christa? You're the worst and **_I hate you_!**" she shouted crossing her arms and huffing again.

...

It didn't surprise Luke that she was telling him she hated him. She had done it before. The first time broke his heart but then he realised she didn't mean anything by it so when it happened again, he didn't take it to heart.

"You don't hate me…" he said.

"I do!" she exclaimed.

"Fine, Clem. You hate me, then I'll move out, okay?" he said leaving the tent. Of course he wasn't going to move out. He just needed her to realise she didn't hate him so he could get back to work and she could get back to school.

She followed him outside sadly. "I'm sorry…" she said walking behind him.

He stopped and she bumped into him. He bent down to her height and pulled her into a hug which she willingly took. "Me too. Ready to get back to school?" he asked.

She sighed but nodded her head anyway.

Luke brought her back to school. They walked in and all eyes went in their direction again. "Morning, Luke. Is something wrong?" Miss Fredrick asked.

Luke patted Clementine's back as she squeezed by the first row of students, where Sarah and her friends, and the older boys sat, and sat in her usual seat beside the wall in the second row next to Thomas.

"No, everything's alright. Don't hesitate to call me if she pulls anything…" Luke said winking at the girl in his care. With that he left and headed back to training.

Thomas remained quiet as he sat next to Clementine which she found weird. The class lasted until just after midday.

Clementine followed Thomas outside but stopped him next to the door. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

He looked over her shoulder to the older kids who were watching them closely. "Clem, not here…" Thomas whispered trying to walk past her but she put her hands on his shoulders to stop him.

"Just tell me!" she demanded.

"Yeah, Thomas, just tell her!" One of the older boys mocked Clementine as he approached the duo.

"Ha. Ha. Go away…" Thomas said, standing up for Clementine as well as himself.

"What are you going to do about it, squirt?" a tall muscular boy said pushing Thomas back.

Clementine had seen the boys pick on Thomas before but usually stayed out of it; today was different though. Today she was already in a bad mood and this small argument was enough to set her off again.

She stepped forward and pushed the bully away from Thomas. "Just leave us alone!" she said.

The boy was joined by his friends as they looked down at her angrily. She glared back up at them, even though she was only half their size. "Aww, did we make little lover girl angry?" the boy said in a babies voice, as he pulled Clementine's cap off her head.

"Hey! Give it back!" she begged as she jumped up in an attempt to reach it. All the boys were laughing at her which only made her rage more.

"Come on, Leo! Leave her alone!" one of Sarah's friends said but 'Leo' ignored her.

Clementine was wondering where Sarah went and why she wasn't helping.

Leo put the cap on his head which finally pushed Clementine over the edge. She kicked his leg as hard as she could, cause him to bend down and grab his shin. He bent down low enough for her to snatch her hat back and place it back over her curls.

Leo's face twisted in anger and before anyone knew what was happening, his fist connected with Clementine's face.

She fell to the ground in pain as Leo sat on her and struck her again.

This wasn't the first fight Clementine had been in since the events a few weeks back. She was in a fight with one of the other boys but he didn't hit her that hard. She easily got away and told Luke.

This time was different.

She heard lots of yelling as Leo stood up off her and kicked her on the mouth

"Hey! What are you kids doing?!" A familiar voice shouted.

"Shit… Quick, Run!" one of the boys hissed as everyone seemed to disappear.

"Clem! Are you okay? I tried to help but they held me away! I'm so sorry!" Thomas exclaimed as he kneeled beside her.

"Clem?" Mike asked in a much calmer tone than the one he had used moments ago to scare away the attackers. He pulled her up into a sitting position and checked her face. "What the fuck happened?" he asked wiping blood off her lip.

Her eye was already starting to turn black and blue.

"He took my hat…" she said quietly.

Mike sighed. "Did you start it?" he asked.

"No, she didn't! They were picking on me and when she told them to just leave us alone, they took her hat and attacked her!" Thomas answered for her.

Mike picked her up off the ground and stood her down. "Is Luke at training?" he asked as he put his arm around her shoulder and started leading the dazed child towards the training area.

She nodded her head, which turned out to be as mistake as a headache erupted and cause her to hiss in pain.

"Are you alright?" Thomas asked taking a hold of her hand to keep her steady.

She didn't answer.

As they entered the training area, Mike signalled for Brandon to come over. Brandon's eyes widened as he saw Clementine's face. "What happened?" he asked.

"Some kid beat the shit out of her." Mike said. Brandon sighed.

"Which kid?" he asked looking at Thomas.

"It was Leo, Brandon. He was gonna hit me but she took it instead…" Thomas explained, hanging his head in shame.

"It's alright, Thomas. Why don't you come with me to find Leo so Clementine can go see Luke?" he asked.

"Alright." Thomas said following his guardian away from the training zone.

"Why don't you sit here and I'll get Luke?" Mike asked the young girl.

"It's okay, Mike. I'll go find him and you can get back to whatever you were doing before this…" she said putting her hand up to rub her battered face.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Yeah…" she answered, not nodding her head this time in case her headache got worse.

"Alright. Tell Luke to come see me later, okay?" he said walking away with slight worry in his eyes as he looked back at her one more time.

Clementine made her way past other men and women who were training until she saw Luke's faded orange shirt. She walked up behind him and tugged on his shirt gently. "Luke…?" she said quietly.

He stood up straighter and turned around with a small smile on his face that quickly turned to a frightened frown. "What happened to you?!" he asked, kneeling down and taking her face in his hands.

"I got into a fight." She said, letting him run his fingers across her lip.

"Jesus, Clem! Who did this?!" he asked angrily.

"Some boy; Leo, I think…" she said.

"I thought I told you not to get into another fight! Do you not remember that other boy?" Luke asked disappointedly.

"He was bullying Thomas and took my hat! It's all I have left of them, Luke. You know that…" Clementine said sadly.

Luke sighed in defeat. He knew she treasures that cap and that it was the only part left of her life before the apocalypse. Of course, in the state she had been in for the last few weeks, she would act out if someone took it away from her.

"It's okay, Clem. How about we go get this checked out?" he said gently touching the swollen area under her eye before standing up and putting his hand out for her to take.

He remembered when he was eleven and he wouldn't be caught dead holding his mother or fathers hand, but Clementine was different. When she held someone's hand, she seemed to calm down and keep a levelled head.

He also realised she wouldn't willingly hold many people's hands.

Sarah would often take Clementine's hand quickly and drag her away but Clementine would never attempt to take Sarah's palm in hers. She took a hold of Nicks hand a few times after the rebellion Mike and Bonnie started, but only because she was scared of being lost in the sea of people that were crowding the small streets the first few days afterwards.

For some strange reason though, she would always take Luke's hand when the opportunity showed itself and he could never get his head around why?

"Do you think Christa will be mad again?" Clementine asked, intertwining her fingers into Luke's bigger ones.

"Nah, I don't think she'll mind if we explain what happened." He said leading her to the 'hospital'.

As they made their way up the stairs, they stopped briefly and looked down the corridor they had to spend two nights in after leaving without permission. "I hope we don't end up back in there again…" Clementine muttered.

"Me neither, Clem." Luke said leading her up the next set of stairs.

The duo walked down the, currently quiet, third floor to the last door. Luke sighed before knocking and walking inside with Clementine close behind. "Christa…" Luke said as he stepped inside.

He stopped talking when he saw Jane and Lilly standing with Christa at the desk.

"Oh, Hey Luke…" Jane trailed off as Clementine stepped out from behind Luke and into the light. Lilly's face darkened as she examined the damage on the girls face.

"What happened?!" Christa exclaimed stepping forwards and pulling Clementine towards her.

"She got into a fight." Luke said.

"Clementine… I thought we talked about this!" The leader of Wellington said agitatedly.

"Wait… She was in a fight before?" Jane asked raising an eyebrow.

"It wasn't this bad last time…" Luke said stepping forward and putting his hand on Clementine's shoulder.

"It doesn't matter… It doesn't even hurt! Can I just go and find Thomas?" the eleven year old asked, pulling her arm out of Christa's grasp and shaking out from Luke's hand.

"I think we need to put some ice on that eye…" Jane said from where she was standing.

"You got into another fight, Clementine! You are in so much trouble!" Christa said putting her hands on her hips.

Clementine's eyes widened as she turned to look at Luke. "Listen Christa, how about me and you go out and I'll tell you what happened?" he asked.

Christa hesitated but nodded her head and left the office with Luke.

"Who did this to you, Clem?" Lilly asked.

"Some boy…" she answered quietly, feeling ashamed that she was beaten up.

"Which boy?" Jane asked rolling her eyes.

"I think his name is Leo…" Clementine said locking eyes with Lilly. The woman looked furious. "Are… Are you okay?" Clementine asked.

Lilly sighed and approached the eleven year old. "They better teach you how to stand up for yourself in this training course later…" she says, checking Clementine's lip carefully.

"I don't think Christa's gonna let me go to that after this fight…" the girl said sadly.

Luke and Christa came back inside. "You'll be fine, Clementine. Just go and get ready for training later." Christa said patting the girl on the shoulder.

Clementine was confused but pulled Luke out of the room by the shirt, waving goodbye to the three women quickly.

"So I'm not in trouble?" Clementine asked rubbing her nose with the back of her hand. It really was cold since it was just after becoming Februaury so her nose was always running.

"No. That Leo boy will be in a shit load later, though." Luke said leading her back to their tent.

As they walked inside, they were greeted by Kenny standing beside the couch. "There y'all are!" he exclaimed turning around. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he locked eyes with Clementine.

"Eh… what do you need, Kenny?" Luke asked nervously.

"What the fuck happened to her?!" the capped man asked angrily.

"It's alright, Kenny. Christa's taking care of it… What do you need?" Luke said pushing Clementine behind him.

Ever since arriving at Wellington, Clementine had changed; her emotions running high all the time and paranoia was haunting her every move.

Kenny had gotten worse too; He flipped even easier now than he did out in the wild.

Luke was scared Clementine would snap at the old man for over reacting and then Kenny would over react even more!

Kenny's face was turning red with rage and Clementine peeked her head out from behind Luke's back to see her old friend. Her face twisted in annoyance. "He said it's alright, Kenny!" she said.

"Don't use that tone with me young lady!" Kenny snapped at the girl.

Luke turned around and picked Clementine up under the arms.

"What are you doing?!" she asked trying to get down.

Luke brought her outside and carried her into Nick's tent next door. "Keep her here!" he ordered as Nick looked at him confused.

"Hey, Clementine." Nick said turning the broken girl around. He saw the marks on her face and frowned. "You really got beat up?" he asked.

Clementine nodded her head. "Sarah just stood there! She didn't even try to help but I heard her friends and I knew she was there…" Clementine said sadly.

"She told me some boy hurt you but she got scared and ran away. She left you there, I know that. But it was because she didn't know what to do, Clem. She would've helped if she could've…" he explained smiling down at her as she blankly stared at the ground.

"Well It hurt. At least Thomas didn't get hit…" she sighed.

Luke came back into the tent. "Kenny's heading to training early. He wanted to tag along with us but his anger got the better of him and he decided to go alone." He explained.

"My ears are still ringing from that rude awakening this morning…" Nick said earning a mischievous smile from Clementine.

"My fault." Luke said slowly raising his hand into the air.

"I'll so get you back, Luke!" Nick said laughing quietly.

"Anyway… Clem, do you wanna get some lunch before we head to training? Looks like you will be able to tag along with me…" Luke said shaking his head as he remembers he had left training to take the girl to Christa.

"Okay. Can I get Thomas first?" she asked.

"Yeah, Clem. Go on." Luke said.

She ran out of Nick's tent and headed for Thomas's home.

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><p><strong>AN - So there you go :) It may be progressing a little bit slow, but in the first chapter (and by the name of the story) you should, hopefully, already know where this story is going... I just have to write the 'in between lines' but the main plot is already been sneakily mentioned ;) Don't forget to Review, Favourite, Follow, Love, Read, whatever you want! (Tell me do you like Thomas, cos I love him) - Seeya now**

**~- Meg xxx**


	3. A Lie Gone Bad

**A/N - Don't really have anything more to say then, Bring it on 2015! :P A nice longish chapter for y'all after such a long wait! - Enjoy**

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><p>"Thomas?" Clementine called as she stood outside of Thomas and Brandon's tent.<p>

No answer.

"Brandon?" she called instead.

Still no answer. She was confused by where they could be but thought they might already be at lunch and made her way to the café. As she walked inside, Lilly pulled her towards her. "You sure you're okay?" was the first question directed at her.

Clementine sighed and took a step back. "I'm fine, Lilly! Have you seen Thomas?" she asked.

Lilly shook her head.

"That's okay. I'll Seeya later!" Clementine called over her shoulder as she left the canteen. As she made her way back to Luke she heard a familiar voice coming from the school tent. "Why is Thomas in there?" she thought to herself.

Her curiosity got the better of her as she walked into the school. Thomas, Brandon, Ms. Fredrick and Leo's heads all spun in her direction. "There's that little…" Leo muttered under his breath as he clenched his fist. Her eyes widened as she slowly started making her way back out the door.

"S… Sorry… I just came for Thomas… I'll leave…" she said with shaky breaths.

"It's alright, Clementine. Why don't you go get Luke and come back here so we can talk?" Ms. Fredrick said calmly. Thomas looked scared and Brandon looked just as pissed as Leo.

"I… He wants to go for lunch…" Clementine made up an excuse but Ms. Fredrick just shook her head.

"I think lunch can wait." She said. Clementine sighed in defeat and went to fetch Luke. She walked back into Nick and Sarah's tent and was greeted by the two owners and Luke.

"Hi, Clem!" Sarah said happily.

Clementine gulped loudly. "Sorry Sarah, I can't talk…" she said quietly and frightened. "Luke, we're in trouble…" she said, looking at the ground and clasping her hands together.

"Why?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He didn't remember doing anything against Christa's laws.

"We have to go to the school. Now!" she said, anxious about what they were being summoned for.

Luke sighed but did as she said and made his way to the school with Clementine following behind with her head bowed in shame. "Luke! Good. So, I heard there was another fight…" Ms. Fredrick said as the duo entered the tent.

"Yeah. As you can probably tell, Clem took quite the beating from this little shit over here…" Luke says grinding his teeth as he locks eyes with Leo.

"Don't use that language here. I've been told it was your girl who started this fight." The teacher said disappointedly.

Clementine eyes widened at this news. "What?!" she exclaimed. It wasn't her, her and Thomas knew that for a fact! Mike even knew...

"It's alright…" Luke said putting his hand on her head.

"She didn't start it. She's not that stupid!" Brandon spoke up.

"I've heard enough from you, Brandon!" Ms. Fredrick snapped. It was weird to Clementine, seeing her calm teacher grow impatient with a grown up; not a child or student.

"Are you seriously telling me a sixteen year old would just beat an eleven year old like that? The way Clementine has been acting out the past while leads me to think it was her that threw the first punch!" the woman said irritated.

Clementine was on the verge of tears. She hadn't cried in a while; she mostly just shouted or lashed out at Luke, and in public she tried to stay strong. Luke was standing there in disbelief at what he had just heard. "You think it was her?" he asked.

"I do…" she said quietly.

Luke felt Clementine tremble under his hand and knew she was going to cry, or shout or do something she didn't mean to do.

"I told you, miss. She just came up and kicked me so I pushed her away and she fell. I didn't hit her!" Leo said crossing his arms.

"He's lying!" Thomas exclaimed, raising his hands in the air dramatically.

"How can I believe you, Thomas? You're almost always late and I always catch you messing during class!" the teacher said.

"Because I'm telling the truth, miss!" he said, matter of factly.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Clementine?" Ms. Fredrick turned her attention to the little girl standing behind Luke with her eyes tightly shut; her face battered and bruised.

"I didn't…" she whispered sadly.

"She's lying! Can't you tell by the way she's acting?" Leo exclaimed taking a step towards his teacher.

Clementine sniffled, which caused Thomas to stand up straighter where he was standing next to Brandon. "You're upsetting her, Leo. First you beat her and now you make her cry!" he said angrily.

"Well, maybe if she wasn't such a baby and a liar she wouldn't be like that!" Leo shot back.

Luke pulled Clementine closer to himself and she whimpered into his waist quietly. Ms. Fredrick and Brandon were arguing and so were the two boys.

"Clem…" Luke whispered as he wrapped his arm around her back. Her body trembled as muffled sobs escaped her mouth.

He thought she was slowly starting to get back to the way she was; her tantrums and outbursts had eased and it seemed her crying had stopped completely but the recent events seemed to have caused all these symptoms to come back like a kick to the face for the poor girl.

She had known she was behaving badly when she shouted at Luke or lashed out when she was angry and told herself multiple times that she could go back to being the calm, cool headed leader she was not too long ago.

But every time something came up that caused her pain, physical or mental, it broke off the repaired pieces and sent her straight back to stage one.

Luke bent down and picked her up before sitting on one of the tables at the front with her sitting on his lap. "Shhh… Clem, don't cry. I know you didn't start it and you know you didn't start it. That's all that matters, right?" he whispered into her ear as she cried on his shoulder and gripped the front of his shirt.

The arguing had stopped and everyone was watching Luke try to comfort the girl. "I hope you're happy…" he said emotionlessly.

Brandon understood that Clementine had it rough for the past few weeks and Thomas knew she just needed some time but no one knew the real story.

Luke remembered what Christa had told him outside her office earlier that day.

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><p><em>"She can take a punch or two, I know that. It's the marks they leave behind that I'm worried about." Christa said quietly. <em>

_"What do you mean? The bruises will be gone in a few days!" Luke said, rolling his eyes. _

_Christa sighed and thought about how she could explain to the man before her in a way he would understand. "This fight will be carved into her memory, Luke. Every time someone brings up something about a fight, the pain she felt today will come back to haunt her. The things people tell her will remain in her brain until the day she dies; good and bad. If you constantly pick at a scab, it's eventually going to peel and break. Clementine is the scab and the things that are affecting her in the world are the fingers that are pulling and scratching. Eventually she will break off and there's nothing we can do to stop it once that happens. We need to prevent it now or who knows what will happen to her!" she explained. _

_Luke's eyes widened, but he quickly shook it off, considering this conversation as just another one of Christa's subtle outburst away from Clementine._

_"Don't worry, Christa. She's one touch scab! It's gonna take a lot to peel her off…"_

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><p>He realised now what Christa had meant.<p>

Clementine had already been through so much which had worn her out, but now much more was happening to her and she couldn't take it anymore.

"She was just getting better and you had to do this!" Luke exclaimed.

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "She didn't start it, and you know it." He hissed as he locked eyes with Leo again. The boy actually looked scared.

"Mike saw…" Clementine whispered into Luke's ear and a small smirk appeared on his face. "I don't care how many times you say you didn't do it because there was an eye witness." Luke said.

Leo's eyes widened. "Who?"

"Mike saw you hit her." Luke said patting Clementine's back.

Leo's jaw locked as he began to sweat. "Well… maybe I hit her once…" he said, quietly.

"What?!" Ms. Fredrick exclaimed.

"I wasn't going to! But she made me angry!" he tried to get himself out of the hole he just dig his way into but it was no use.

"Brandon, I'm sorry I didn't believe you, and Luke, I'm sorry I blamed Clementine. Is she alright?" the woman asked. Luke looked down at the girl on his lap with her head in the crook of his neck. "I honestly don't know…" he said.

"Clem, do you wanna go to lunch now?" Thomas asked happily, attempting to get her to smile. She lifted her head and looked at him. "Come on! I'm starving! We get to go training afterwards, Brandon said so!" Thomas exclaimed taking her hand and jumping up and down.

Clementine slid off Luke's lap and let Thomas drag her out of the tent. "I think she'll be alright…" Luke said smiling slightly.

"We better catch up with them." Brandon said standing up off the table next to Luke.

"Yeah, let's go." Luke said leaving the tent. He heard Ms. Fredrick shouting at Leo as he walked away from the school and smiled amusingly. "That'll teach him…" he muttered to himself as he followed Brandon to get lunch.

Thomas and Clementine were sitting with Arvo and Mike in the café, when Luke and Brandon came in.

"…be so much fun!" Thomas exclaimed.

"Maybe someday you train to be doctor like me?" Arvo said smiling at Clementine. His English had improved over the space of a few weeks as patients at the hospital chat with him a lot.

"I'm not very good at that kind of stuff… I think Sarah would though! Her dad was a doctor!" Clementine said returning the smile to the Russian.

"You better eat up. Its hard work training for a few hours, you know." Mike said, waving to Luke and Brandon as they approached the table. Thomas handed a plate of rice to Clementine and she handed it to Luke. "Thank you." He said sitting down next to the girl.

The food wasn't always nice but it was edible and that was all that mattered. After everyone had a plate in front of them, they started another conversation.

"Where were you? I've thought you'd have been here earlier!" Mike said shovelling the cold rice into his mouth. "Leo tried to blame us for what happened earlier!" Thomas exclaimed shaking his head as he swallowed some food.

"That kid is gonna find himself in a shit load of trouble if he doesn't be careful…" Brandon muttered.

"It's alright now, though. He got caught red handed thanks to you, Mike." Luke said. "All I had to do was say one sentence and they were gone!" Mike laughed, as he caught on to what probably happened.

Clementine smiled slightly as she ate slowly. "I hear Nick and Kenny fight." Arvo said.

"They did?" Brandon asked.

"Kenny say some bad Выбор языков… uh… words? Bad words. Nick does it also." Arvo explains.

"That sounds like something those two would do." Luke says shaking his head. Thomas scooped the last of his rice into his mouth and turned to look at Clementine's still half full plate. "Come on, Clem! Eat faster!" he said.

"Leave her alone, Thomas." Brandon scolded the boy.

"Sorry… I'm just excited that's all!" he said sitting back in his seat.

"You oughta to be, kid. It's not every day two eleven year old are allowed into training!" Mike said pushing back his chair. "I'll see you around then." He said leaving the area.

Arvo finished next and stood up. "Goodbye. Have fun Clementine." He said waving to the silent girl.

"Bye, Arvo!" she finally said as he walked away. "'Bout time you started speaking again! Thought you lost your voice for a while there…" Luke joked. He was honestly growing concerned.

She pushed her plate away and smiled at her guardian. "Done." She said. Luke looked at her plate that wasn't empty yet and then back to Clementine. "No you ain't. Finish the rice and then you can go." He said pulling the plate back in front of her.

"But I'm not hungry!" she said pushing it away again.

"Clementine… You know you have to." He said looking down at her seriously.

"Just today, Luke. Pleeeeease?" she begged.

"You're gonna be hungry later and there won't be anything to eat!" he said. "I think I'll live…" she said, rolling her eyes.

"Clem…" he muttered.

"Luke…" she mumbled back.

"Fine! Go on and have some fun." He said shooing her away.

"Yesssss. Thanks, Luke!" she said jumping out of her chair with Thomas and running out of the café.

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Rushed chapter, so sorry :/ Next one will be better quality, promise ;) Baiii**

**~-Meg xxx**


	4. Out Of The Darkness

**A/N - Sorry about lack of updates on this fic. I did warn you in the first chapter though, and I was NOT lying! ;) I know this chapter is short but I wanted to update it today and had nothing written so just quickly scribbled something down, edited it quickly and now I'm posting :) - Enjoy**

* * *

><p>Thomas took the lead as him and Clementine ran to the training area. The freezing wind not bothering the young boy as his hair swayed in the direction the gusts were blowing. It had been his dream ever since arriving at Wellington to become part of the training squad.<p>

He had been taught a few things already from Brandon; like jumping fences, shooting guns, taking cover and using nature as a weapon, but he still had a lot more to get into his head.

Clementine, on the other hand, only knew how to shoot and hide, and even then she wasn't the best at either. Now, she was even rustier at both since she hadn't even picked up a gun in about a month; give or take a few days.

"Come on, Clem!" Thomas called as he looked over his shoulder to make sure the girl was still behind him. He was really excited, but would wait for his friend since she was relatively slower than him. He knew she had asthma, but it rarely effected her. He still kept it in mind though, just in case.

"I'm coming!" she laughed as she caught up to him.

Thomas saw the small fence that led into the training area. The fence only covered the entrance however. The rest of the shooting grounds were protected by a wall that had been extended in the back for training purposes alone.

After the raid that destroyed Wellington the first time, the training area was used for speeches and other public action since it was the only small section of the walls that survived the attack...

"Follow my lead." Thomas said, running up to the fence that surrounded the training zone and grabbing it with both hands before pulling himself up and throwing his legs over it. After that one quick movement, he landed inside the training grounds with a quiet thud.

"What'd you think?" he asked, looking over the small fence and smirking at Clementine.

"Cool. Where'd you learn to do that?" she asked, walking through the little gate and standing next to him. She knew he was stronger than her, so she wasn't going to attempt anything she might regret.

"Brandon. Maybe he'll teach you!" Thomas said, trying to lighten the mood. He knew she was still on edge from the events earlier that day and didn't want her hating him if he brought it up again.

He didn't hold it against her; the way she had been acting lately, but he wanted the old Clementine back. Luke and Brandon had a huge, boring talk with him about what was wrong with his friend but he didn't catch a lot of it because he was distracted by the snow and other children outside the tent they were in.

He remembered them saying something along the lines of 'She's still sick.' or, 'Just be gentle with her and everything will be fine…' Of course that conversation was weeks ago and Thomas didn't remember much more than what is outlined above. He would try his best however to bring his friend 'back to life!'

"There you two are! Come with me." Brandon said as he made his way towards the duo. They didn't argue and followed the man to an area at the far back of the training space.

"This is where you two will train; in private, with me. Logan or Luke, maybe Nick and Mike, might come around to help out sometimes, but _I'm_ your captain! Understand?" Brandon explained as he paced back and forth on front of the two eleven year olds.

"Yessir!" Thomas chirped, quickly glancing at the girl beside him who repeated what he had said a few seconds before.

With a small nod, the boss man took his standing stance in front of them, looking them both in the eyes as he once did with his recruits before he became general of the army group he made it to wellington with in the early days of the apocalypse; and before he took Thomas under his wing.

"Good. Now, there are some weapons over there." he pointed to an old table against the wall to his left. "Take a hand gun each and come back here."

Both of the new recruits ran to the table and took matching Glock 17 before sprinting back to their spots in front of Brandon.

"Okay, you know how to load, reload and shoot, right Clementine?" the man asked.

Clementine nodded her head. She had spent so much time with a gun she had learned how to use it with her eyes closed. She had only ever used glocks, pistols and other small guns, though, so she was going o have to learn how to handle the big ones.

"Alright. Thomas, I know you're ready for this next session. See those wooden targets over there?" Brandon asked pointing behind the two children. They turned to look at the two sloppily painted targets nailed to planks of wood that were planted into the snowy ground. "Try to hit the bulls-eye. One bullet only; We can't afford to waste the ammo."

Thomas lifted his gun and shot, hitting the target directly on the middle mark. He turned and smiled at Brandon before facing Clementine, awaiting her shot. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

_"I hate you!"_

She was broken.

_"You're hurting yourself, Clementine…"_ Christa's voice echoed in her ears. _"I don't care!"_

She really didn't care. Right then and there, she wanted it to end. All the pain, suffering and emptiness, she just wanted it all to be over.

_"__My name's Clementine. I'm a survivor just like all of you!" _

But she was a survivor.

She had to keep living; for Lee, for her parents, for the lost cabin group; Carlos, Rebecca, Alvin, Pete and the baby, for her first group; Carly, Doug, Mark, Larry, Ben, Omid, Katjaa and Duck.

_"Sweet dreams, Clem." _For Luke; her new father like figure. He was the man who took Lee's place. He was the one person who bothered coming back for her when she was so close to death; her older brother almost.

She couldn't give up on him.

Not after everything he had done for her; all the care he had given her while she was in that stupid coma, the time he had spent by her side protecting her, the amount of times she had made him cry, the time she almost left him; TWICE.

She never thanked him even once for anything he did for her...

_"Just let her go…"_ For Nick.

_"You missed school, Clem!"_ For Sarah.

_"Hey! What are you kids doing?!"_ For Mike.

The screw-ups who became a better person after all the terrible things he went though, the young lady who found comfort in her last surviving friends, the newcomer who no one trusted, yet he had risked his life to keep her safe from a woman he thought he loved.

_"__Goodbye. Have fun Clementine."_ For Arvo, the Russian boy who had almost killed the whole cabin group, but was now as close to her as his Russian friends and sister were to him, before death came for them.

_"Clementine, we need the lighter…" _For Kenny; one of her oldest friends left. He may have been cranky at times, but so was she, and that didn't give her any reason to be so harsh to him all the time. He had stuck by her through thick and thin, and she had returned the favour in many ways, but they seemed to have drifted.

She was determined to fix that.

_"Well I couldn't just leave you behind, could I?" _For Jane.

_"It's way past your bedtime."_ And for Lilly.

Her role models who she had probably let down by being so depressed all the time. She gave them the cold shoulder when they tried to give her a smile, a kind word or gesture, or anything to try and make her better. She loved them with all her heart but she hadn't showed it to them.

If they didn't think she liked them, it didn't surprise her in the least.

_"I know… Shhh."_ For Christa, who hadn't given up on her in the long weeks they had been separated; her second mother. She was the one person Clementine called out for in her time of need, and the woman never failed to arrive on request.

_"You lost, little fruit?"_ For Brandon; her bodyguard, as she liked to see him.

_"You don't really have a boyfriend do you?"_ And for Thomas; her best friend in the apocalypse (besides Sarah, of course). He never seems to fail to put a smile on her face. Some may even say she had a small 'crush' on him.

Clementine would hold onto the past, but she was moving on.

She would go back to being that independent, strong willed young girl she used to be. Gaining new skills at the training classes and rebuilding her strong bonds with the people she loved.

She was breaking out of her broken shell and finding a new one.

She opened her eyes and released a breath she didn't know she was holding in. The trembling of her hands had subsided and that made her smile. She was always shaky and wary, but right now, she felt like she could rule the world.

Raising the gun to eye level and keeping her elbows unlocked, Clementine aimed at the target and placed her finger on the trigger.

"Time to turn over a new page…"

*BANG*

"You did it, Clem! Bulls-eye!" Thomas laughed as he jumped on the spot and punched the air, celebrating her victory.

She turned to smile at him; she was proud of herself for hitting the target at all, as part of her mind was still expecting to miss by a mile. Now that her confidence was re-established, she was going to go far. "I'm a natural, what can I say?" she giggled.

Brandon saw a hint of true happiness in her eyes; something he hadn't seen in a while. "Well done, Clem." He praised the child. They still had a long few sessions ahead of them, but it seemed everything was going to turn out alright.

Things were really looking up!

* * *

><p><strong>AN - Chapter was mainly just to cover Clem's 'Recovery' if that's what you wanna call it ;) Remember the name of this fic, and now think to yourself 'Oh crap...' With that, I'm gonna go :P Baiii**

**~-Meg xxx**


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